Monday, 22 August 2011

Katja Sauvola goes "Behind the Riots: the Role of Education"

Riots in London shook Britain and the media last week. Since the actual events, we have heard and read numerous analyses of the reasons behind the riots. The Guardian said “the reasons are complex and deep-rooted.” Peter Beaumont wrote on his article that: “Every explanation seems unsatisfactory, designed to conform to an ideology or a theory. I hear social deprivation blamed, yet there are other poor areas of the country that didn't riot. Others blame atheism and the lack of morality. Yet I have never lived in a community in London where so many of my neighbours go to church. Even the simplest explanation of Conservative ministers that it is simply ‘criminality’ is meaningless.”

Tuesday, 9 August 2011

Programme Director Jussi Nissilä comments the developments in the UK.

Who would have thought that a protest against the police after a young man’s death last weekend would turn into a full-scale anarchy all over the UK? Even after having witnessed the demonstrations by the students against the rising tuition fees and the demonstration and the aftermath anarchy against the government’s spending cuts, I didn’t think this would be possible. After all, the issue seemed so geographically focused and so apolitical that my first reaction was that it would remain very local to Tottenham.

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The Finnish Institute in London works to identify issues in contemporary society in the fields of art, culture and social studies. We encourage cross-disciplinary and international collaboration. We engage in research, new ideas and thinking – and provide our partners with a platform to discuss and act. This blog is such a platform.